And there was a lively atmosphere despite the chilly weather as a crowd of 3,700 packed the venue for the opening night, with Wawrinka – the most high-profile name in this three-day exhibition event – first on court to face Wu.
But the seasoned Swiss, who returned to the circuit earlier this year following foot surgery, made a slow start, to say the least.
An early break from Wu left the 37-year-old trailing 3-0 before former world No 3 Wawrinka held serve on the next two occasions to get a foothold in the match.
The initiative was soon regained, however, by the 23-year-old from Hangzhou, who was the 2017 boys’ singles champion at the US Open and in this year’s edition reached a career-best third round of the men’s draw.
He went on to break his opponent again in the eighth game to take the first set 6-2.
Ranked 116th in the world to Wawrinka’s current status of 148th, Wu picked up where he left off to start the second set, breaking again in the fourth game to take a 3-1 advantage.
Wawrinka reunited in October with his former coach Magnus Norman, under whom he had achieved his best results, but the former Australian Open, French Open and US Open winner looked out of sorts all evening.
China’s second-ranked player remained dominant, winning his next two service games to lead 5-2. Facing three match points on his own serve, Wawrinka reeled off five straight points to stay alive – only for a matter of a few more minutes, though.
Wu held serve in his next service game to take the second set 6-3 and complete the first victory of his career over a grand-slam champion.
“I was just doing the best I could and treating it as a normal match,” Wu said. “I felt my winter training was rather good, so this win is a kind of recognition for those efforts.”
He hailed the “excellent” atmosphere at the arena.
“It has been a long while since I last played in front of so many spectators,” Wu said. “It certainly felt like pre-Covid tournament conditions.
“My previous competitions were played overseas, and for tournaments in mainland China there were not as many spectators as this even before the pandemic.”
Next to experience the excitement was Wong, and he had a chance to break Norrie when leading 2-1 in the first set, only to be kept at bay as the Briton took it 6-4.
The 18-year-old, ranked No 745 in the world, joined the senior circuit only three months ago, when he made a swift impact by impressing in Hong Kong’s Davis Cup tie against Taiwan.
But he was always chasing the game against Norrie after being broken early in the second set, which he lost 6-3.
“Thanks for supporting me,” Wong told spectators in his on-court interview. “Everyone here is a top player and I’m glad to have a chance to play against them. I did my best and hopefully I gave you all a good match.”
Addressing Norrie, he added: “I learned a lot and I’m happy and honoured to play you. Hopefully I can play better and play against you in future tournaments – even in a grand-slam event.”
The teen seemed to impress Norrie, who said: “He plays with a lot of energy. It’s great experience for him and he really looked like he enjoyed it.
“If he keeps playing at this level, I think he won’t lose to many players. It’s just the beginning for him and I think he has a bright future. He looks pretty famous in Hong Kong already.”
Receiving byes were world No 9 Taylor Fritz, a Wimbledon quarter-finalist this year, and world No 10 Hubert Hurkacz of Poland. They await Norrie and Wu respectively in Saturday’s semi-finals.
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